1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a supporting structure, and more particularly to a supporting structure applied to a backlight module.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the technology of liquid crystal display (LCD) devices develops rapidly, the quality, reaction speed and panel size of LCD devices have improved greatly. Due to the advantages of LCD devices, including compact size, light weight, low electricity consumption and low radiation, LCD devices has now been widely applied to all kinds of electronic products, such as notebooks, digital cameras, digital camcorders, mobile phones, computer screens and liquid crystal televisions. However, the liquid crystal display panels in the LCD devices are non-self-luminous, backlight modules are required to provide light sources to display images.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional backlight module is illustrated in FIG. 1. Generally speaking, a conventional backlight module 10 includes a back plate 11, at least a supporting pin 12, several lamps 13 and several optical sheets 14. The optical sheets 14 are disposed over and parallel to the back plate 11, so that light emitted from the light source 13 diffuses to the optical sheets 14 uniformly without dark areas. The supporting pin 12 is disposed on the back plate 11 for supporting the optical sheets 14. Therefore, a gap h is formed between the optical sheets 14 and the back plate 11, and the optical sheets 14 remain parallel to the back plate 11.
In related arts, there are many different kinds of supporting pins. A structure of a rotating supporting pin embedded in a backlight module disclosed in Taiwan Patent No. 284914 (published Jan. 1, 2006) includes a base and a back plate. The base includes two latches. A block is formed at the end of each latch. After the base rotates, the blocks are engaged in two positioning holes of the back plate so as to fix the base onto the back plate. However, because having insufficient structural strength, the latch is easily broken. Also, the volume of the structure is large, which increases the cost of developing the mold.
Also, a rotating supporting pin structure of a backlight module disclosed in Taiwan Patent No. 284912 (published on Jan. 1, 2006) includes a rotating base, a locking pad and a back plate. A shaft of the rotating base is engaged in a first track hole of the back plate and a second track hole of the locking pad for fixing the rotating base onto the back plate. However, the supporting pin is a three-piece structure, which is complicated and increases the manufacturing cost of the supporting pin.
Furthermore, a lamp guide device and a backlight assembly for liquid crystal display device using the same are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,070,313 (published on Jul. 4, 2006). A lamp guide device is disposed on a lower case for supporting several optical sheets. A guide connecting hole and several concavities are formed respectively on the lower case so as to fix the lamp guide device onto the lower case. The lamp guide device only can be applied to a lamp-type backlight source. As a result, the manufacturing process is complicated, and the cost is increased. Additionally, the types of backlight assembly that the lamp guide device can be applied to are limited.